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Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 01:23 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-99079

Linux kernel: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry When an XDP redirect to an AF_XDP socket fails because its RX ring is full, the XSK core frees the buffer.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.5% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-99079 (opens a new tab)

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry

When an XDP redirect to an AF_XDP socket fails because its RX ring is full, the XSK core frees the buffer. During the subsequent batched refill of a legacy cyclic RQ, mlx5e also releases the WQE's XSK buffer before allocating a replacement. If that refill succeeds only partially, a WQE left without a replacement retains its old buffer pointer.

The buffer can meanwhile be allocated to another WQE. A later refill retry can then free the live buffer through the stale pointer and publish the same UMEM frame twice.

Continue reading

Mark the WQE as released immediately after the driver-side free. The flag is already cleared when a replacement buffer is assigned, so refill retries no longer release stale pointers.

The failure is silent and produces no kernel warning or splat. A standalone legacy cyclic-RQ zero-copy libxsk reproducer, using 64-byte UDP traffic offered at 12 Mpps, detected it: stock stopped after 2,854,914 packets in 4.094 seconds, with 4,542 xdp_rx_ring_full events and 64 ownership/double-publication errors. With this change it processed 356,904,225 packets in 30 seconds despite 571,405 xdp_rx_ring_full events, with no ownership or data errors.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

9.8

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.5%

Scored Percentile 39.3%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-99079 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-99079, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 24). Linux kernel: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry (CVE-2026-99079). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99079

MLA

"Linux kernel: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry (CVE-2026-99079)." KEVWire, 24 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99079.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry (CVE-2026-99079)." Last modified October 24, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99079.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry (Oct 23, 2026).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on refill retry

When an XDP redirect to an AF_XDP socket fails because its RX ring is
full, the XSK core frees the buffer. During the subsequent batched refill
of a legacy cyclic RQ, mlx5e also releases the WQE's XSK buffer before
allocating a replacement. If that refill succeeds only partially, a WQE
left without a replacement retains its old buffer pointer.

The buffer can meanwhile be allocated to another WQE. A later refill
retry can then free the live buffer through the stale pointer and publish
the same UMEM frame twice.

Mark the WQE as released immediately after the driver-side free. The flag
is already cleared when a replacement buffer is assigned, so refill
retries no longer release stale pointers.

The failure is silent and produces no kernel warning or splat. A
standalone legacy cyclic-RQ zero-copy libxsk reproducer, using 64-byte UDP
traffic offered at 12 Mpps, detected it: stock stopped after 2,854,914
packets in 4.094 seconds, with 4,542 xdp_rx_ring_full events and 64
ownership/double-publication errors. With this change it processed
356,904,225 packets in 30 seconds despite 571,405 xdp_rx_ring_full events,
with no ownership or data errors.
CVSS 9.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 24, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99079).
EPSS 0.5% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99079&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-99079: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99079
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?pubStartDate=2026-10-12T13:35:55.142Z&pubEndDate=2026-10-26T13:35:55.142Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=9000
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99079&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-99079.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 26, 2026, 19:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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Record details

Record detail